EDITORIAL: Hoyle’s contributions to openness stand tall

Published: Monday, January 7, 2013 at 06:18 PM.

Without the openness that Hoyle worked hard to protect and expand — he did so even in the face of pressure from his Democrat colleagues — the people of this state would be left only to guess and wonder about the workings of their government.

A sample of Hoyle’s accomplishments in government openness:

You cannot be denied access to government information because an official or government worker disagrees with your reason for wanting it. The information belongs to you and the reason rests solely with you.

Incentives promised to businesses to attract them to North Carolina cannot be kept secret from lawmakers before the vote on the awards.

Total compensation – including perks – for government employees can’t be kept secret. That includes those who work for public hospitals.

Journalists can’t be forced to share information they gather with lawyers or government officials. This protects media from becoming an arm of the government and underpins the constitutional right to a free press.

For his many years of service to Gaston County and all of North Carolina, we thank Secretary Hoyle and welcome him back home.

When a new government takes shape in Raleigh this week, Gaston County’s David Hoyle won’t be a part of it for the first time in two decades.

The long-time state senator and outgoing secretary of revenue will be at home in Dallas, looking over the business interests that helped shape him into one of North Carolina’s top lawmakers.

When Gaston voters first sent Hoyle to Raleigh, he took with him a businessman’s perspective, a quality sorely needed by a government overstocked with professional politicians, bureaucrats and lawyers. His leadership ability and sound judgment quickly earned him respect and kept in tack Gaston’s position of legislative power and influence, important quantities missing in some of today’s delegation.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and again as revenue secretary, Hoyle brought about changes in the state’s tax code to the benefit of small business owners and individuals. Every person in North Carolina gained when Hoyle worked for and won a reduction in the food tax.

Retirement is a time to look at one’s accomplishments, and in the realm of government, Hoyle has many. There is one, however, where Gaston’s long-time senator stands tallest and contributed the greatest to North Carolinians:

Government transparency.

Throughout his political career, we have commended Hoyle for his unwavering commitment to the public’s right to know what its government is doing. We do so again today, holding him up as an example for elected officials at all levels of government.

Without the openness that Hoyle worked hard to protect and expand — he did so even in the face of pressure from his Democrat colleagues — the people of this state would be left only to guess and wonder about the workings of their government.

A sample of Hoyle’s accomplishments in government openness:

You cannot be denied access to government information because an official or government worker disagrees with your reason for wanting it. The information belongs to you and the reason rests solely with you.

Incentives promised to businesses to attract them to North Carolina cannot be kept secret from lawmakers before the vote on the awards.

Total compensation – including perks – for government employees can’t be kept secret. That includes those who work for public hospitals.

Journalists can’t be forced to share information they gather with lawyers or government officials. This protects media from becoming an arm of the government and underpins the constitutional right to a free press.

For his many years of service to Gaston County and all of North Carolina, we thank Secretary Hoyle and welcome him back home.